This 19th-century wax seal travel set was used to seal personal letters with hot wax. This set offered ready-to-use seals with several apt, often humorous, mottos that could be selected based on the letter's content or recipient.
The gilded brass case is beautifully decorated on all four sides with brightly coloured enamel. Normally, these etui's have a cap on top that holds a seal in place when pressed into hot wax. Unfortunately, this cap is missing from this etui.
Inside the etui are fourteen brass double-sided seals, with one double seal, giving 28 mottoes to use in total, mostly in French. These are:
• A clinging vine on a tree stump: ‘Il me Faut un Appui’ / A butterfly and a lit candle: 'Illusion'.
• Cupid riding/taming the devil / a running dog, carrying a letter: 'Va Vite'.
• A swallow: ‘Le froid me chasse’ / ‘Lundi’.
• The love, hope and faith symbol / ‘Dimanche’.
• Cupid: ‘L'amitie est l'amour sans ailes’ / A mountain landscape: ‘Calme au Sein des Orages’.
• A running dog: 'Je suis pressé' / A fox and a stork with his beak in a tall jar: 'Chacun son tour'.
• A Pelican feeding her young with her blood: 'Pour les Miens' / 'Samedi'.
• A tiger: 'Ami Fidele Ennemi Implacable' / Plus Deuil Que Joje'.
• Two clasped hands: 'l'Amitie’ / ‘Vendredi’.
• An oil lamp: ‘Je Meurs si j’on Mouille’ / A tiger caught in a net: ‘Avec la Temps’.
• A quill 'Toujours Sincère' / An envelope: 'Allez Heureuze!'.
• A hunting dog / 'La Mort N'est Rien L'oubli Est Tout'.
• A falling leaf: 'Brisez' / a heart-shaped locket: 'You have the Key'.
• A withered rose: ‘Fletrie avant le temps’ / ‘Semper’.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Size: 62 x 16 x 16 mm. Each seal measures 10 x 8 mm.
Weight: 30.10 grams
Age: 19th Century, circa 1830s.
Material: Brass.
Condition: In good antique condition with only minor signs of wear, consistent with its age. All seals are in good condition; some appear to have been barely used, while others show small signs of use. Please note that the etui is missing its cap, which normally holds a seal in place when it is stamped in hot wax.
Please note that this shop is based in the EU. Although antiques are exempt from taxes in most countries, buyers from outside the EU might be subject to import taxes.